Two people have decided to use of a mountain trail to get some exercise. They start out from the parking lot at the bottom of the trail at the same time. Person 1 runs the trail at a constant speed v1 = 5 m/s. Person 2 walks the trail at a constant speed v2=2 m/s. Given that the people must return along the same path they climbed up, and given that the summit of the trail is _d- = 3 km from the parking lot, how far from the summit will the people be when they meet going in opposite directions? (Assume neither person pauses.)
Systems: Each person will be treated as a point particle.
Model: One-Dimensional Motion with Constant Velocity applies to each person separately. Depending upon how you visualize the problem, the model may have to be applied twice to the runner (person 1). We will explore this detail in the Approach.
Approach: